Washington and Author Leona Bushman

I live in Washington—state not city. And there's a pet peeve of Washingtonians everywhere. People in Washington DC should remember to add the DC charge.  Different from the metropolis of DC, my Washington offers diverse and beautiful areas of the country. We have mountains, and the Snake River, the Columbia river, the Puget Sound, the Pacific Ocean, semi-arid desert, the Yakima Nation Indian Reservation and the only cold rain forest (that I'm aware of) in the world.

I live in the semi-arid desert portion of the state. We've added canals so the orchards, farms, and ranches

have really become a large business venture. It's always been that way, though. Except now, it's on a larger scale.

It's a wonderful place to live. We have technology (Microsoft), coffee (Starbucks and Seattle's Best), shipping, fishing/crabbing, farming, ranching, and loads of malls. One of my favorite things are the orchards.

My family and I moved to Texas for a few months. Wasn't the best experience of our lives, but still very educational. One of the things we found is the apples they called apples? They're the ones we cull up here.

Or send to the juice factory. I sorely missed the fruit available around here, even in winter.

Personally, I live near at least eight  produce stands and/or farmers that sell their product direct. It's like having a farmer's market every day. Although, not as much fun stuff like soaps, breads, and artwork, I wish we had more of that around here. Every

Sunday, my five mile neighbor, Yakima, has a Farmer's Market that closes the street down in front of our historical theatre, an old Vaudeville one—The Capitol Theater. The Farmer's Market that includes all of that extra stuff I like and is particularly fun.

One of the best things about where I live, is the spring. The orchards are in bloom for weeks straight. We normally start with Cherries and end with Apples. And yes, those are crops that deserved to be capitalized. We send our fruit all over the world. You may have seen a box of Washington apples or bags of Washington cherries, at a store near you. Pears, peaches, wheat, corn, asparagus, mint, plums, apricots, beans, tomatoes, dairies, horse/cattle ranches, and the list goes on. We also have wineries that have received some

world-wide attention.

As you can see, I live in a diverse area. And the different cultures—Anglo, Mexican, Native American, Philippine—in my area alone are incredible to see. The powwows, the casinos, the parades, the fairs put on but each part of the community, all reveal those differences. And, when you go out of my area, an even stronger amount of diversity is seen. These communities take pride in their traditions and share with us all.

On the west side of the state, there are also some of these things, even agricultural, but the biggest difference you'll see is in Seattle metropolitan area. There's where the big city life is. From Puyallup to Olympia to

Seattle to Tacoma, if it's not there, there's a good chance you don't need it. Art, diners, clubs, EMP aka The Experience Music Project, the Space Needle, the Science Center, the IMAC theatre, the cultural fairs, the library made of awesome...even the architecture is fantastic.

I write, I paint, I love. 

Visit Leona’s website for more information on her work:

http://www.leonajbushman.com

(Pictures provided by Author)